According to the American Institute of Stress, 40% of Americans report that their job is an extreme source of stress for them. Furthermore, 75% of workers believe that jobs in America are more stressful than they were one decade ago.

The most common sources of job stress are:

• Lack of control
• Increased responsibility
• Job satisfaction & performance
• Uncertainty about work roles
• Poor communication
• Lack of support
• Working conditions

Personal health is a concern strongly associated with stress, including heart issues, back pain, fatigue, and headache.

These are the most common signs of job stress:

• Headaches
• Trouble sleeping
• Problems concentrating
• Short temper
• Upset stomach
• Job dissatisfaction and low morale

You can reduce some job stress by noticing what things that you have control over and those you don’t. You may not have total control over the deadline however you do have control over how you manage your thoughts about it.  By focusing the mind on the present moment task you can avoid negative thoughts shifting into the future.

Here is a simple and easy method you can do often;

First, identifying your stressors is an important part of ridding the work place of stress. Each time that you feel yourself becoming stressed ask yourself if you have total control of the situation or person.  Most often we don’t.

Second, tell yourself that you can change how you think about it.  Easier said than done? True, but it is a process that takes practice.  To do this allow your body sit comfortably and relax. Closing your eyes breath in and out very deeply.  The key to relaxation is to refocus thinking.  So its best as you relax to focus on your breath going in and going out.  This can become a form of mediating. Notice any sensations that you experience as just an experience; not making it right or wrong.  Do this 5-7 times. Typically people try to clear the mind or focus on many different things.  This in itself is challenging.  That is why a simply focusing on your breathing can be more beneficial.  It is effective, powerful, and a proven method for de-stressing.

I know stress is a hot issue, and I would like to continue our conversation.  If you personally struggle with stress in your workplace, please leave a comment below.

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I’ll be focusing on one technique at a time. Before I introduce the first technique, I’d like to give you a little insight into how we typically experience stress and especially how we learn to respond to stressful events in life.

When you are feeling stressed it is because you feel that you cannot control outcomes that you would like. Most of us aren’t really aware of the actual causes of stress. We experience all manner of negative feelings – stress, discomfort, anger, sadness, frustration – in response to events, situations and the behavior of others in our lives.

Most of us believe that external events, situations and behaviors “cause” our distress, and therefore they must be controlled, managed or eliminated somehow in order to reduce our stress. We soon discover it’s not possible to manage all of the things in our lives that bother us. So, we become discouraged believing that we must either put up with ever increasing stress or numb out in some way (often with alcohol or food  – also known as “Happy Hour.”)

Here’s a little model I use to show how stress really works. Instead of the external situation directly causing our stress there are two intervening steps to consider:

We often become aware of stress when we notice our actions or the reactions in our bodies.

We miss the whole intervening process of observation, thought and meaning making, and emotions. It’s not the event, itself that causes stress, it’s our take on it, which then tells us how to feel about it and ultimately how to respond.

Focusing on the negative, distressing aspects of an event or another person’s behavior, or interpret situations as threatening,  causes the stress hormones to flow freely. On the other hand, if you manage your thoughts to be at least neutral or find positive aspects of the situation you will experience far less distress.

You have no control of the many situations going on around you that seem to be the cause of your stress.

However, the one thing that you do have control  over is how you decide to think about those situations.  That is the bottom line.

Managing your thoughts is tricky if you haven’t even been aware of having them. That’s where Mindfulness Meditation comes in. Mindfulness helps you to slow down long enough to become aware of what is happening in your mind, body and emotions where you have more control. Mindfulness meditation helps you to become aware of how your body responds to stress, the emotions you are having and of the thoughts that trigger your emotions.

Mindfulness Meditation Technique #1:

Sit down (right now) and take 5 deep breaths.
Now focus on your breath going in and out.
Notice it without identifying it as “Am I doing this right or wrong?”  Many people stay in their heads when first doing this, so practice on noticing your breathing as is goes in and out, without judgment.

Simple? Easy? Yes it can be.  Practice is the key.  Do this throughout your day.  Set an hourly timer if you want to remind you of this practice.

Doing frequent deep breathing sessions will help you focus in the moment and allow you to notice your thoughts, emotions and tension in your body.

In the next article I will discuss how long held beliefs shape our stress reactions and the second Mindfulness Meditation Technique.

Make your daily practice easy with Donna Marie’s Relaxations for Inner Peace audio program of guided meditations,  soothing music and soundDe-Stress Store.

Check out  Donna Marie’s upcoming experiential workshops at http://www.dealwithstresstoday.com/events-calendar/

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Tons of people around the world find their jobs to be a source of tension in their lives. Whether it is a boss that constantly judges or critiques, co- workers who meddle or argue during work, a stressful project with a tight deadline, or too many things to do all at once, stress at work is a common phenomenon. What should you do about it? Here are some great tips on how to deal with stress at work.

If you can focus on these simple steps, your work stress will quickly and easily be able to be lowered to a manageable level . The first step to dealing with stress at work is called Mindfulness Meditation.

The concept of mindfulness meditation is that many people spend too much time in their daily work environments complaining about what Cialis online is wrong or bad about their jobs, but very little time feeling thankful about the work that is in their lives.

These people (and you may be one of them) tend to see the work environment glass as constantly half empty instead of half full. Ring a bell? Mindfulness Meditation tells you to first express gratitude before complaining.

For example: Yes, the boss might be on your back about this big project, but, you are enormously thankful for being given the responsibility to tackle the project in the first place. Making the oh so important time needed to express gratitude, and practice Mindfulness Meditation regularly, will make the problem itself seem less insurmountable.

Another a good way to deal with stress in the workplace is to eliminate judgments. Do not judge anyone in your working environment negatively. Once you pick up this practice, you will find how quickly you can begin seeing the glass as half full again.

A positive way to help yourself is to allow yourself to say “No,” once and a while. In this fast paced world, we all may find ourselves taking on responsibility after responsibility, without really ever stopping. Sometimes you have to allow yourself to say no. It is possible to do so in a graceful, positive way, to help the other person understand why you are turning them down. Letting the word ‘No” into your daily life will allow you to give yourself a break every once and a while. Then you can focus on doing your work 100 percent, without additional work piling up on the back burner.

Learning how to practice Mindfulness Meditation, keeping a positive attitude while at work, and letting yourself say no sometimes, are three spot on strategies to employ when dealing with stress at work.

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It may seem like stress at work is a problem that is unavoidable, but this is far from the case. There are numerous way in which you can take time to relax during your work day, thereby reducing your over all stress load and relaxing your mind and body. Not only will you be in a better, more uplifted mood, but also you will be ready to focus more clearly on the work tasks that lie ahead of you.

Lets begin with some easy ways in which you can relax your mind and body. Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful way for you to make the bigger problems feel just a little bit smaller. Practice expressing gratitude for a situation before allowing yourself to complain about it. This simple activity can do wonders for your mood.

Also, try to take a moment to yourself. If you feel yourself surrounded by a difficult situation, tell yourself that you are going to begin dealing with your stress at work. Next, notice the people that work closely with you in your office environment.

It is very likely that some of those people bring negative energy to their dealings with you. Being surrounded by too many folks bringing negative energy to the table can make anybody stressed out and anxious! Try to analyze better ways in which you can deal  with these people.

If face to face interactions cause undue stress, perhaps you can try proceeding with them through more email correspondence. If you have co workers who constantly interrupt you while working, you can kindly remind them that you are trying to focus, and can speak to them when you have some more time.

Also, meditation can help greatly release some of your stress. Try taking some deep, cleansing breaths when you feel like you are overloaded. try to clear your mind of the individual stressor, and envision yourself deeply relaxing.

Whenever you feel your body going into a stress response, deep breathing can help immensely. By using mindfulness meditation ( which will remind you to think positively,) and relaxation, you can take your mind off of the stress at hand. When you take breaks, allow at least part of your break time to be time used for relaxation. By practicing these simple things, soon you too will find that dealing with stress at work is easier then expected.

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Maybe you have forgotten how to enjoy your life? You are not alone. Many people feel that their lives have become routine, and that the stress in their life may be piling up around them. The wonderful thing about stress, however,  is that it can be removed as easily as it was created. By taking a few small steps every day, you can deal with stress in a positive way, and find your way back Buy Viagra to the life you deserve to be living.

The first thing you can do is to take a look at your emotional and spiritual self. Do you have an outlet for your emotions? Holding in emotions on a day to day basis creates an environment where stress thrives!

There are many ways you can combat this. You can try finding a trusted friend to talk to. You can purchase a journal and make sure you write down your thoughts and feelings on a daily basis. You can seek help from a professional therapist if there are deeper issues you need to address. The most important way to deal with stress is not to hold back your emotions, but to express them.

It is also important to take a look at your spiritual self. Whether you believe in a specific religion, a higher power, or just a feeling of connectedness, delving into spirituality in some format can remove a lot of stress from your life. Knowing that there is a master plan within the universe can remove some of the day to day worries.

The next thing to tackle can be any fears that you have. Fear can be paralyzing sometimes, and can grow in intensity if not dealt with. Begin by tackling a small fear, and slowly expand to larger ones. Enlist a support system if need be. Fear can create much stress in your life and should be tackled appropriately.

If you know that there are changes you need to make in your own life, but fear seems to be holding you back, take a risk and push through the fear to change your life. You will be glad you did,.

Finally, make sure that you have a sense of humor about life. Things will not always go your way, but taking the time to relax, and appreciate the joy surrounding you can do wonders, even for a bad day. Step by step you are moving closer to living the life you want to live.

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